Mani Ratnam reveals SS Rajamouli had ‘great impact on him,’ says ‘If Baahubali hadn’t come in two parts, wouldn’t have been able to make Ponniyin Selvan’

By Vandana Srivastawa

on February 23, 2023 08:06:05 PM

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli has been enjoying well-deserved accolades for some time now ever since his Baahubali released and he went a notch higher with last year’s RRR. RRR has earned an Oscars nomination for its song Naatu Naatu being nominated in the Best Original Song category after winning the same award at the Golden Globes earlier this year. Now, he has received another high praise from none-other-than Mani Ratnam who said that he has made a huge impact on him with his work.

Mani Ratnam, SS Rajamouli, and Sukumar, three of the most renowned filmmakers in the south came together for a discussion about the trend and future of cinema at a recently held entertainment summit in Chennai. During the panel discussion which was being mediated by actor Anu Haasan, the filmmakers were asked questions from the audience. Mani Ratnam was asked, “What’s one thing that has made a huge impact on you in a positive way?’ To everyone’s surprise, Mani Ratnam said, “I think, Rajamouli,” which surprised and delighted the Telugu filmmaker immensely.

that was very humble of him to say that #Maniratnam #SSRajamouli pic.twitter.com/7rWaaa2SZU

— ma (@i_am_padhu) February 22, 2023

Mani Ratnam further elaborated and said, “I will tell you why. You know… I have been wanting to make this film called Ponniyin Selvan for years, and I could not find a way, till Baahubali came. The one huge thing it did was… it came in two parts. That you can tell a story in two parts and keep the audience glued. It just opened my… you know… possibility of me making the film. If Baahubali hadn’t come in two parts, I wouldn’t have been able to make Ponniyin Selvan. So, thank you very much.”

In reply to his praise, Rajamouli said, “Sir, this is the biggest compliment I can ever get. The biggest.” Ponniyin Selvan is a Tamil classic written by Kalki Krishnamoorthy in five parts and delves deep into the power struggles of the Chola dynasty. Several noted names including MG Ramachandran and Kamal Haasan had tried to adapt the story but to no avail until Mani Ratnam did the unthinkable with Ponniyin Selvan 1 with a stellar ensemble cast that include Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Vikram, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Prakash Raj, Kishore, and Sarathkumar. The movie has music by AR Rahman and cinematography by Ravi Varman. PS1 had great domestic success by collecting more than Rs 500 crore. Ponniyin Selvan 2 will release on April 28, 2023.

(Source: South India Media and Entertainment Summit/Twitter)